Skip to content

Share bad news with your boss

You can reveal your true leadership potential when you use the DARN process to share bad news with your boss: Disclosure. Tell your boss the full details, explaining the situation and the circumstances leading up to it. Example: “We missed the cutoff date to file the extension because we hadn’t gathered all the data. We […]

OneNote for Event Collaboration

It is three days before the event. You are frantically trying to gather attendee lists, catering orders, room arrangements, speaker itineraries, agendas, presentation slides and meeting notes. Some are in documents on your hard drive. Other information is available on a website. Countless documents and notes are in your email inbox, somewhere. Sound familiar? You may have an application already installed on your desktop that can rescue you from all that insanity. It’s called OneNote.

When good jobs go bad

When the job gets too far out of whack, it’s probably time for you to move on and even in this still-difficult economy, there are plenty of opportunities to do so, says Glassdoor career and workplace expert Heather Huhman. She offers 10 signs that it’s time for you to let your old job go and look for a new one.

Sharpen the focus of a meeting

Propose to a meeting organizer that you play the role of “tangent spotter.” Whenever unrelated issues or circular arguments sidetrack the meeting’s efficiency, the tangent spotter brings the group’s focus back: “Hey guys, let’s get back on track, please” or “We’re supposed to be discussing xyz. Did I miss something…?”

What are the best–and most entertaining–team-building exercises?

Question: “My boss has asked me to come up with ideas to help our staff become more team-player oriented. At a previous job she and a co-worker brought all of their office staff together, paired them up with Legos, and had one read directions while standing behind the one putting the item together. She said the results were fantastic because it showed the staff members how others perceive another giving directions and how they interpret them. Does anyone have any other suggestions on how to make being a ‘team-player’ fun?”  Mary

Don’t let conflict become a schoolyard squabble

Q: “Ever since I was promoted, one of my former co-workers has refused to acknowledge that I am now her supervisor. Because she is friendly with my boss, ‘Anna’ takes all her questions and concerns to him instead of me. This power struggle has been going on for two years. I’m so disgusted with Anna that I have a hard time controlling my temper. At the same time, I’m acutely aware that my inability to work with Anna has cast me in an unfavorable light with management. How do I solve this problem?” Tired of Fighting